An Accident Waiting to Happen
by tornac
Summary: Sequel to 'A Little More Than a Crush'. This time, Lee spends his time with the gang, and his mother and father. Zutara, oneshot.


**A/N: Sequel to 'A Little More Than a Crush'**

**I don't own any characters of Avatar. Except Lee, that is.**

"Daddy! Daddy! Wake up!!"

I grumbled sleepily, not opening my eyes. It had been a wonderful dream… together with the gang again…

"DADDY! WAKE UP!"

My face scrunched up at the noise and I covered my head with a pillow. Five more minutes…

"DAAADDY!! Come on, it's REALLY important!"

"Not now, Lee…"

"But you HAVE to get up, come on, come on!"

I sighed in defeat, knowing he would never stop until I listened. I yawned hugely and sat up, rubbing my eyes, trying to focus on a blur of red at my bedside. Lee was practically jumping up and down.

"What is it?"

"Guess what, Daddy!"

"Uhh… We have a new baby turtleduck?"

"Nope!"

"We… have a new pet mooselion?"

"Nuh –uh!"

"Great–Uncle Iroh made you some fire-breathing tea?"

"Nah, but I'll ask him to later!"

"Don't you dare-"

"Okay I won't, I won't, but guess again!"

"Ugh… I'm out of guesses Lee…"

"Then I'll tell you…"

He took a deep breath, a huge grin on his face, and I could sense that he was bursting to tell me this. Drumroll…

"Uncle Aang and the gang are coming!!!" he yelled.

My eyes widened.

"What? When?"

"They'll be arriving in an hour!!"

"Are you sure you're not joking, Lee?"

After all, the only reason Aang should visit now was if there was an emergency, since they had been gone for weeks to settle a blood feud in the Earth Kingdom, but Lee wasn't aware of that…

"Yeah, the guys outside said they spotted Appa!"

I quickly got off the bed and grabbed a robe, heading for the door to confirm what Lee had said. The now-promoted Admiral Jee was outside, talking with Iroh. They both looked up as I came out of my chambers.

"Why Nephew, I see that you're up already! I thought you'd be sleeping in at this time."

"It's an emergency, Uncle."

"What emergency?" asked a voice behind me. Lee had come out too. And Iroh, completely forgetting me, opened his arms and boomed,

"Lee my boy!"

"Great-Uncle Iroh!" he exclaimed, and run into Iroh's arms, nearly bouncing off his large stomach.

Jee, Iroh, and Lee laughed together, until I cleared my throat.

"Oh yes Nephew, what were you saying?"

"Is it true that you've spotted Aang and the others?"

"What? They're coming? Goodness, I must be making some tea…"

Iroh turned around and walked toward the kitchens, taking Lee with him. I turned to Jee instead.

"Is it true?"

"Yes, sire, they were spotted off the coast of Avatar Roku's Island an hour ago. Reports say they seem to be headed here."

I nodded and said,

"Get the preparations ready."

"Uhh… for what sir?"

"For their arrival. It could be an emergency."

Jee's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry I hadn't thought of that earlier sir, I assumed they would just be visiting… I'll get to it right away."

He bowed once and ran off, calling orders as he went. I returned to my chambers and put on my formal robes, and tied my hair into a topknot, all the while praying to Agni that whatever the reason of the visit may not be too serious…

o.o.o.o.o

I walked into the courtyard a few minutes later, with Jee at my side. My heart thumped wildly against my chest as I saw the approaching speck in the sky. If Aang had been hurt… or Suki, Sokka, Toph, Katara…

I took a deep breath as the giant bison made a final swoop and landed in the courtyard. Jee spoke in a strong voice,

"We welcome and acknowledge the presence of Avatar Aang."

Silence.

Now, my fears were confirmed. Aang usually spoke right after Jee's statement. I shifted and ran towards Appa's side, but then…

"Thanks Jee!!! Nice to see you guys too!!!"

And an airbender crashed on top of me.

"Sifu Hotman!! I've missed you!!" he yelled, hugging me tightly.

"Hi Zuko! Nice to see you!" said another voice, which also hugged me. I recognized it as Suki.

They both let go of me and a strong arm helped me off the ground, and then pulled me into a man-hug.

"How's my 'ol jerkbender doing?"

"Sokka? Suki? Aang? What--?"

"Surprise!" they yelled, with huge grins on their faces. I looked bewilderedly at all of them.

"What? I thought you were settling a blood feud in the Earth Kingdom--?"

"Yeah, we did that a looong time ago."

"But you were gone for weeks—"

"Yeah, we decided to settle everything we could in the Earth Kingdom right away, so we could go on a grand vacation with you!!"

I stared.

"Everything…?"

"Everything!"

"Like, the eastern villages…?"

"Done!"

"Omashu…?"

"Done!"

"Ba Sing Se…?"

"We said everything, Zuko."

I almost laughed out in relief. No more paperwork! My head was spinning… As if I was flying in the clouds… I gave them one huge hug before pulling away.

"Where are the other two?"

"Lookin' for us, Sparky?"

I glanced up at the saddle, where Toph and Katara were watching our exchange. They smiled and slid down, Toph reaching me first.

"Got any food? I'm starving."

"Wh--?"

"Just kidding, Sparky." She said, and gave me a bone-crushing hug before pulling back.

I grinned at the earthbender before turning to Katara. She threw herself into my arms, and I whispered softly into her ear,

"I missed you."

"I missed you too," she replied, and let go of me, adding,

"And don't do that, it tickles."

I chuckled and took her hand, beckoning the others to follow inside. Jee smiled and said, "At ease, men," before following us into the Fire Nation Palace.

o.o.o.o.o

"So what've you been doing, Sparky?"

"Worrying about your visit this morning."

"…Why…?"

"I thought that one of you might have been injured."

Toph laughed out loud, getting some pie onto her shirt.

"You are _so_ paranoid, Sparky."

I nodded, smiling to the rest of the laughing group. It was just like old times. Just then, Iroh came through the door, carrying seven cups of tea. A unified cry of "Iroh!!" came from the group, and in an instant they were hugging a laughing Iroh, saying,

"Ooh, careful with the tea!"

They smiled and took a cup each, instantly with the retired general. A moment not to soon, though, a loud yell of "HI GUYS!!!" sounded, followed by a muffled "Oof!" by Suki's seat turned all their heads in her direction, where a very happy Lee was hugging her.

"Lee!" they cried, and he flashed them a grin before getting off Suki and going to Aang. The airbender grinned widely as the boy wrapped his arms around him, saying, "I've missed you!"

"Me too, Uncle Aang!"

"What've you been up to?"

"Nothing much… It's no fun without you guys…"

"Then let's have fun then!"

"Yeah! Will you take me cloud diving again--?"

"_Absolutely not!_" I said, and was surprised as Katara had said the same thing. The pair blinked at us, and flashed us very-innocent looking grins that I knew were otherwise.

Lee leaned in and whispered to Aang,

"Thanks!"

"No problem!" Aang whispered back, and Lee leapt off him to hug Sokka,

"Lee! How's my 'lil warrior?"

"All right, Chief!"

"That's more I like it! How's your training, warrior?"

" Going all well, Chief!" Lee said, holding up his arms to show Sokka how strong he was.

Katara smiled, saying,

"You can't be serious, Sokka—"

"Oh we are!" said the pair, and Lee sat on Sokka's lap, facing all of them, and the both flexed their arms, showing the group their 'muscles'.

"_Grrr!"_

The group laughed. Toph chuckled,

"Wow Snoozles, Suki's doing better than you!"

Sokka turned red and opened his mouth to retort,

"Well I'm gonna prove it! Were gonna hunt mooselions again aren't we, Lee?"

"Yeah!"

I shifted uncomfortably.

"Suki…?"

"Don't worry, I'm, on it."

I nodded my thanks and turned to Sokka, who was about to say something against it, but was silenced as Lee gave him a final hug and went to Toph. They did their 'special handshake', and Lee whispered something in her ear…

…That made her smile mischievously.

"Oh no, what are both of you planning now?"

"Oh nothing…"

They both winked at each other, and fell silent.

I heard Katara sigh nervously beside me. I fell silent, too. This was not good…

Lee smiled at Toph one last time and finally hugged Katara, whose tension disappeared as the little boy snuggled against her. She kissed him on the temple, whispering,

"How's my little boy?"

"Alright…"

Katara fell into a comfortable a comfortable silence, with the boy safely in her arms. I looked at them tenderly, noting how well they… fit together… like they were always meant to be.

However, Aang broke the silence by saying,

"Let's play beach volleyball!"

"Yeah!" came from the group, and Aang rushed out first, yelling behind him,

"Last one there's a rotten platypus-bear egg!"

"Hey unfair!" called Sokka, running after the boy, followed by a laughing Suki. Surprisingly, Iroh went out too, saying,

"Ahh, a chance to stretch my muscles!"

He stopped by the Admiral.

"Coming, Jee?"

"Are…are you sure sir?"

"Of course! I wouldn't pass by a chance to feel young again!"

Jee smiled and Iroh added,

"Your men can come too."

Murmurs came from the remaining soldiers, and they followed the General and Admiral on a very… weird, unexpected volleyball game.

Toph stooped down and put Lee piggyback style on her back.

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

She ran outside and earth-skated once outside the courtyard, catching up with the others.

I was left alone with Katara on the seat. She looked at me slyly, saying,

"Race you there, Fire Lord."

I smirked.

"Gladly, peasant."

Adrenaline kicked in as I used fire to power me towards the beach, but Katara caught up with me, using water as well. Now, she was smirking too.

o.o.o.o.o

Throughout noon, we played beach volleyball using an enlarged net created by Toph. Both teams played equally, merely gaining an advantage on each other.

The first team was composed of me, Sokka, Suki, Uncle, and four of Jee's men, and the other composed of Lee, Katara, Toph, Aang, Jee, and three of his men.

Naturally, events were unusual.

I, Jee and the rest of his men played normally, though we tried our best not to set the ball on fire with every hit. Jee's men were surprisingly good too, taking shots far out at the back.

Lee and Aang, enthusiastically hyper as usual, were always a little… _over,_ when they hit the ball. They managed to make a rally of 43 in the span of ten seconds once...

Suki was the best at diving to get the ball, usually saving a very frustrated Sokka at times.

Sokka, on the other hand, spent most of his time screaming at the top of his lungs as he went for the ball, but usually missed it. Well, he even hit one of Jee's men. Poor guy.

Katara loved to target my head. I can't believe I let her, too. I think I fell about twenty-four times throughout the game. Mostly because of staring. She just had to wear a cute two-piece…

Toph was arguably the best player among all of us, for reasons I cannot grasp. She just loved spiking the ball into the ground, and of course no one was that dense to get it. I mean, it went six feet below that sand at a time.

And Uncle… well he tried to use his hands, but the ball bounced off his stomach more often, with surprising force, over to the other side. He stopped using his hands altogether, laughing.

We stopped sometime early in the afternoon. Uncle excused himself, Jee and his men, and the Avatar to prepare for music night, in which Aang enthusiastically accepted.

I lay against that shade of a tree, joined shortly by Katara. She was still panting from the game. Just as I was about to say something to her, we were approached by Lee… and Toph. _Not good._

"Hey Sparky, Sugar Queen. How's the honeymoon?"

"Toph-!"

"Don't work yourself up, Sweetness. The kid knows."

Katara looked at Lee, who was grinning widely.

"I _knew_ you had a crush on Daddy too!!"

Katara gaped, unable to find any words. I cut in hurriedly,

"Hey Toph, I thought you couldn't feel airborne objects. How'd you spike that ball?"

She flipped her bangs back and said,

"I can feel you guys you know, even through sand. And once you make contact with the ball, I can feel the force in direction change of your stance too. So, I can predict where it's going, and then I kick your butts."

"Awesome!"

"Yeah, that's me. But that's not why we're here, right?"

"Nope!"

I grit my teeth. So much for trying to change the subject…

"Fine, what are you here for then?"

Toph pulled Lee close with one arm.

"Well, Little Bandit here's got a bet."

I gulped. Little Bandit? As if _one_ Toph wasn't enough for the world to handle…

"…What?"

"Tell 'em, Lee."

He grinned.

"I bet you and Aunt Katara are secretly together!"

"We're not!" we said in unison, then blushed as Toph laughed.

"I think you're gonna win this one, kid. Their hearts' going a million miles per hour."

I turned, if possible, even redder. Then, I frowned.

"We'll prove it."

"Using _we_ now, eh, Sparky?"

"I—No! It wasn't—Gah! Just… if we win by the end of today, you're never to bet against us again, got that, Toph?"

"Crystal clear, Sparky. But if we win--"

"I get to drink Great-Uncle's fire-breath tea, go Giant Koi Fish riding with Uncle Aang, hunt Emperor Dolphin-eels with Uncle Sokka and Aunt Suki, and go Earth- Super Sliding with Aunt Toph!"

"And I get access to the kitchens and the black market any time I want."

I looked at the pair disbelievingly. How in the name of Agni did we get ourselves into this? Oh, forget it, Agni. I just remembered. Toph's right beside us. No, make that _two_ Tophs. One of which is my son.

"Fine."

"Perfect. We'll be off then, Sparky, Sugar Queen. Enjoy your honeymoon," said Toph, walking away with Lee, triumphant grins already on their faces.

This was going to be hard.

o.o.o.o.o

_I watched as he came back with her. The way he watched her, how he put his arm around her… Was never going to happen to me. I knew it. After all, promises are so easy to break. A miracle, that I lived through five years of this. Why did this even happen? Right… Because I'm a fool. I thought I was making both of us happy, but I guess some things will never change. And I was too blind to face it. Why do they even still think of each other as friends? They're just fooling themselves as well. And I'm just here… like a simple complication._

_I slid the golden ring off my finger and dropped it to the ground. This is the best, for both of us._

_"Goodbye, Zuko."_

o.o.o.o.o

Katara and I arrived at the Palace ahead of the others. We both collapsed against the couch at the same time.

"So tell me again. _How_ did this happen?"

"Well, we happened to be caught by Toph and Toph the Second at a very inappropriate moment, my lady."

Katara giggled, but stopped abruptly as a soldier came running into the room.

"My Lord, Lady Mai has disappeared!"

"What?!" I said, sitting up abruptly.

"We have searched the entire palace my Lord. All we found is this."

He held out his hand, beholding a golden ring, and a tiny piece of paper.

_This is the best, for both of us. Goodbye._

o.o.o.o.o

"I'm so sorry, Zuko."

"Don't be. Mai and I… we haven't been on good terms lately… I guess this is really the best, for both of us. We were falling apart."

Katara nodded. We were silent for a while. Then,

"What are you going to do now?"

"…I don't know. I'll continue protecting Lee for as long as I live, but as of now, since you've cleaned up my paperwork for me, I'll try to think of how to get out of this bet. No one has ever beaten Toph before."

"Why won't you let her get to the kitchens anyway?"

""If I do that, the Fire Nation will have shortage of supplies."

"Oh. Isn't this _your_ kitchen?"

"By the Fire Nation I meant us in the Palace."

"Oh."

"Are you still going to ask about the black market?"

"No, that's fine with me."

"Well, help me think of a way out of this."

"You can do it. I think you'll succeed this time."

I looked at her with one eye.

"You're underestimating my self-control."

She looked at me and blushed deeply at my expression.

"What self-control?"

"I know you're not _that_ dense Katara."

Her blush deepened.

"Will it help if I stay away from you?"

"Maybe, but I don't think it's going to work."

"I'll try then," she said, and crossed to the opposite side of the room.

I sighed.

"Not working, Katara. I think I just need to relax…"

She sighed too, and came back to sit beside me, sliding her hands behind my neck. I felt myself heating up.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to make you relax."

"…How is this supposed to work?"

"You'll feel it in a few seconds…"

I cocked an eyebrow, but understood a second later. She was using water from the tray Iroh brought to massage my head.

"Do you feel relaxed now?"

"I don't think it's working, either."

"Maybe it's because a lot of blood's going to your head. Wait, _why_ are you blushing?"

"Am not."

"I can feel your blood, Zuko. It's coming to your cheeks."

"Cause I thought… that you… you know… would…"

Her eyes widened for a while, then she gave me a sly smile.

"Do you think _that'll_ make you relax?"

"Katara don't… I _swear_ we'll lose the bet--"

"Just one, maybe it'll help."

I started to protest, but was silenced by her lips against mine. I responded immediately, no longer holding back.

A few moments later, she tried to pull away, panting.

"Zuko stop…"

Well, I wasn't listening, losing all self-control I had left and pulling her to my chest as I lay back. She must have forgotten the bet too, cause she responded just as eagerly.

Then, Doomsday came.

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT!"

Katara nearly flew off the couch as I launched upward.

There, a mere five feet from us, were Lee and Toph, grinning evilly. With a very large hole on the floor beside them.

"We win Sparky."

I was speechless as they did a hi-five. Katara wore the same expression as mine.

"No we weren't – I was choking, Aunt Katara was just doing the Heimlich maneuver!"

Lee laughed.

"I think you mean _CPR_, Daddy."

I gaped at him for my slip-up, then looked at Katara. She looked back.

"This is _your_ fault."

"What?! _I_ wasn't the one kissing me!"

"Well I didn't _know_ kissing you would have the opposite effect!"

"I thought you were _aware_ of that!"

"No, I was merely _considering_ it!"

"I _warned_ you beforehand!"

"Well, when have I been _ever_ the one who _listened_ to you?"

As Katara and I continued to bicker, Lee whispered to Toph,

"Do they always fight like this?"

She shook her head, smirking.

"No, they don't. Because, that, Little Bandit, is called _flirting_."

"Ohh, okay."

Toph nodded and broke up our little conversation.

"Okay. Okay, enough with the flirting, lovebirds. I wanna hear the Fire Lord proclaim our rights formally."

"I'm not going to."

"Ooh, says who, Sparky?"

"Says me, the ruler of the Fire Nation—"

"--Who just lost a bet to a blind, seventeen year old girl, and his five-year old son."

I glared at them.

Lee pouted.

"Come on Daddy, you promised!"

I looked at him, to Toph, to Katara. Sighing deeply, I said,

"Fine."

"YES!"

"So much for formally…"

"-As long as you go to bed, right now."

"Aww, I thought Lee and me could play a little game before he sleeps."

Sokka and Suki had just come in.

"Yeah Daddy, could I-?"

"No. Go to bed, now."

"What's the hurry, Sparky?" Toph grinned.

"I am not in a hurry!"

"Uh huh."

Lee looked at Suki questioningly, and she suddenly giggled out loud, saying,

"Oh he just wants to spend some alone time with your mom—"

Suki stopped abruptly, covering her mouth with her hands. All eyes turned to her for a split second. Then, in what seemed like an eternity, Lee looked at Katara, to me, and back to her, shock in his eyes.

"You're… my…?"

"Ohkay, let's go guys, a lot of fun to have tomorrow, c'mon Suki, I wanna show you something!" said Toph in a very high-pitched, un-Toph-like voice, dragging a very guilty-looking Suki along with her.

Sokka though, hadn't budged a bit, his jaw hanging open. He looked at Lee.

"So that's why – your—eyes…"

Then, he looked at me.

"It was _you…!"_

"Oh yeah, sorry guys, I forgot about dear Sokka, c'mon Snoozles, Suki wanted to tell you something, too!"

At that, a shock-ridden Sokka was dragged away.

I looked at my son's face.

"Come, Lee. We need to talk."

o.o.o.o.o

Katara followed me as I walked into the room carrying Lee, who still hadn't spoken a word. I set him down gently on the bed and sat beside him, while he leaned against Katara. I waited for him to say something.

"So… was Aunt Suki telling the truth? Or was she just teasing you…?"

I looked at Katara worriedly, but she nodded her head and sighed softly.

"No… she wasn't."

Lee's head tilted to meet her eyes. She gave him a weak smile, not knowing what to expect.

"So does that mean… you're really my Mommy?"

"…Yes."

He nodded, almost disbelievingly, then turned to me.

"Why didn't you tell me, Daddy? That Auntie Katara was really my Mommy?"

I put an arm around him and pulled him close.

"Listen, Lee. We never told you at first, because we needed to protect you. Your birth, just a few months after the war, could have signaled a toll of uprisings and feuds. We had to conceal your true identity, and Katara's, for both your sakes."

His eyes filled with tears.

"So I'm really that bad? To be able to extend a war?"

"No no no, of course not. Nothing was ever your fault. We both knew that the Fire Nation was extremely unstable when I became the new Fire Lord, and the political leaders would never support me unless I would abide by the traditions that have been set for ages. And, that was to marry a Fire Nation noble as well. That's why I married Mai."

Katara nodded.

"It was really hard for me and Zuko to go our separate ways. We kept everything about our relationship a secret. Naturally, Toph found out though, and so did Suki. Aang was able to connect the dots himself, and we decided to keep Sokka in the dark. But, I knew we couldn't hide you forever, so I did the hardest thing I could: I had to let you go. Pretend that you were Mai and Zuko's son, to protect you. And I knew it would soon drive me to the point of being insane, losing both of you, so we agreed to try our best convincing ourselves that we were in love with someone else."

I chuckled deeply.

"But I guess, sometimes first loves can never be forgotten."

Lee looked at both of us for a moment. Then, he let himself fall against the bed, eyes wide open.

"This is so _weird_."

Katara shifted and leaned over him, touching his face softly.

"I hope you won't hate us for this Lee… especially me. Please forgive us."

I nodded solemnly, fearing that my son would keep this against me until he grew up. I closed my eyes and waited for his reply, fearing the worst.

But then, it turned out to be the opposite.

"Are you kidding?! Of course I don't hate you!" he said, grinning wider than ever before, before hugging a surprised Katara.

"Can I start calling you Mommy, now?"

Katara blushed lightly.

"I guess it'll take some getting used to…"

Lee laughed lightly and stood on the bed to hug both of us. I couldn't help but smile back, hugging my little family just as warmly.

When he finally let go, he asked,

"But what about me? Do I still need to pretend?"

"No, Lee," I said firmly. " Now that our country is stable and the court officials have put their complete faith in me, I'm willing to start a new tradition. And, I guess there's one more thing I need to do…"

At that, I took out the golden ring and knelt at the foot of the bed, before Katara.

"I know it has been long, that we have faced a war-stricken world, that we have seen the consequences ending in blood and pain, that we have suffered innumerable trials and sufferings, but I want you to know, that all I have gone though, I did for you, that you still hold the very flame of my heart and that no-one could ever do the same. So I ask you, Katara of the Water Tribe… Will you marry me?"

I could feel happiness radiating from Lee, who sat beside her. Katara's eyes filled with tears and she hugged me tightly.

"Yes."

Lee whooped and bounced on the bed before I caught him a second later. He wriggled out of my grasp and hugged Katara instead, playfully making a face at me.

"Can we sleep now, Daddy?"

"Of course. Go lie down now."

He grinned and crawled over to his pillow, plopping down onto it. Katara flashed him a smile before standing and heading towards the door. However, I caught her before she took her third step.

"Don't. My betrothed sleeps with me tonight."

"Zuko, isn't it inappropriate…?"

"Aww, come on Mommy, sleep with me!"

Katara looked at me, to Lee, then smiled.

"Okay then."

"Yay!"

I laughed softly at his reaction, before changing to my night clothes. When I came back, Lee was snuggled up against Katara, and both of them were chuckling. Then, they both looked at me.

"What?"

"Nothing."

I cocked an eyebrow before laying down on Lee's other side. He looked at me, still grinning.

"So… are you happy that I finally proposed to Katara?"

"Yeah! Well, I was actually thinking…"

"What?"

"Did you always have a corny romantic side, Daddy?"

"What do you mean _corny_—"

"I actually agree with him there, Zuko."

"What? So you're _both_ teaming up against me?"

"Yeah!"

"Why you—" I chuckled, tickling Lee around the middle, where he squirmed under my fingers, laughing.

"Hn. You're just lucky both of you have blue eyes."

Katara cocked her eyebrow this time.

"What does our eyes being blue have to do about anything?"

"…I don't know."

"Then why did you say that?"

"It just popped out of my mind."

"So you just say anything that pops out of your mind?"

"Sometimes…"

"You never think things through, then?"

"Look who's talking, _peasant_."

"Why do you say so, _prince_?"

"That's _Fire Lord_ to you."

"And that's _Water Tribe Ambassador_ to you."

Lee suddenly tugged on both our shirts.

"By the way, do I have to put up with you flirting all the time?"

As if on cue, we both turned red and said in unison, "We're _not_ flirting!"

Lee laughed out loud and added,

"I can tell you're lying!"

We both fell silent.

Lee turned to me.

"So Daddy… when did you start crushing on Mommy?"

I gave them an amused smile.

"I guess when I first saw her during my visit to the Southern Water Tribe Village. She looked cute that time. Unfortunately, I was distracted by a very loud warrior."

"Huh? Who?"

"Sokka, of course."

He blinked, then laughed.

"So Uncle Sokka's really like that? No wonder he kept screaming at the volleyball."

"I know, that's why his sneak attacks never work, not when he's yelling it out to everyone."

"So he tried to sneak up on you?"

"Actually, no. We fought for real. He never managed to throw me off-balance." I said proudly.

"Except for his boomerang!" Katara cut in. I frowned at the memory. Lee cocked his head.

"Boomerang?"

"Yeah, Uncle Sokka had a boomerang that he really loved but lost during the final battle. And that boomerang hit Zuko right in the head."

"It was unexpected!"

"Right. When you saw him throw it and knew that boomerangs always came back. Anyway, it turned his helmet a good forty-five degrees to the left."

I growled. Then, she continued,

"What's more, Uncle Aang came to the rescue, and Zuko here landed on his face, with his helmet on his butt!"

I slapped my forehead as Lee roared with laughter. He continued chuckling for a few minutes at my expression, before turning to Katara.

"S – so, wh – what about you, Mommy? Did you start crushing on Daddy that time, too?"

"Actually, that came a bit later. I was practicing some waterbending forms from a scroll, then some pirates and Prince Zuko here showed up and he caught me by the wrists when I tried to run. He said something, remember, Zuko?"

"_I'll save you from the pirates_." I said, smirking.

"Mm – hmm. He had me there. And when he tied me to a tree, he started doing some sweet talk, you know about that already, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well the point is, he sounded almost close to purring into my ear-"

"I was _not _purring-"

"And I couldn't help myself. He sounded so sexy."

"Eeew…"

"Well, not totally sexy, you know. You can't miss Mr. Baldy walking around."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…You – were – _bald_?!"

"I had a topknot! Well, yeah, that was about all the hair I had, but still – "

"Eeew! I could just imagine you being bald, Daddy…"

He shivered under Katara's arm.

"Ugh, nevermind, I don't think I want to."

Katara laughed, and I wondered if I could get any more embarrassed. Then, he piped up,

"So… those were just little crushes, right?"

"Yup. But I started doubting it being just 'little' when we went to Ember Island."

"Oh yeah, I remember that! Aunt Toph said you two were flirting throughout the entire show."

"We were _not_ flirting--!!"

"Yeah okay, right. So, what happened?"

"So, well, we had a little talk right after the show…"

"I had to address the issue about what Toph said… that what the show showed was the truth."

"Even if it was butchered by the Ember Island Players again… I don't think we were able to internally deny what our actors said."

"Oh."

"Yeah. We opened up to each other that night, almost as much as we did in Ba Sing Se. Then, I don't know how, but we came very close to sharing our first kiss then and there."

"Ugh, no details please, Daddy."

"There were none. All I can say was that Katara was already closing her eyes and I was an inch away, but your Uncle Sokka passed by to take a potty break."

Katara wrinkled her nose.

"I haven't forgiven him for that yet."

Lee looked at me.

"So Uncle Sokka saw you? Then… _why's_ your head still on, Daddy?"

"Because he was ninety-nine percent asleep. But naturally, Katara and I jumped apart."

"Aww, too bad…"

Katara nodded.

"I know. It could have been very romantic, since we were sitting by the shore and it was a full moon."

"Yeah, I remember. But it was more romantic when it really happened."

Katara and Lee both looked at me.

"What?"

"Because we were both surrounded by ashes, flames, crumbling buildings, and in the presence of a screaming psycho."

Katara laughed, but Lee took it seriously.

"Wow… You really _have_ issues with choosing romantic places, Daddy."

"Actually, tell that to your mom. She kissed me first. And it was rather quite forceful."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well I took my time berating him for being a mindless idiot, jumping in front of lightning like that, but then I realized that he did that for me, and he could die at any possible moment from that hole in his stomach. I made it sure it was forceful, because I knew I was being stupid and because he was still an idiot to me. He still is though-"

I pouted –

"But I still love him for it."

Lee smiled happily at us.

"Both of you _never_ really think things through, right?"

"That's right."

"So like, it was an accident?"

"Actually," Katara said, "it all was an accident waiting to happen."

"And I waited for it to happen to me," I added, draping my arm over my family, thanking Agni for blessing me with this little treasure… that everything fell into place in the end.

**A/N: Still had fun, but got carried away ^^**


End file.
